Resistant microbes in the care sector

Dutch healthcare has strict procedures to prevent antimicrobial resistance. Such policies can disadvantage people who have resistant microbes on their body. For example, nurses are not allowed to work, patients are refused surgery or other treatment, and children are excluded from day-care facilities. Philosophers of Wageningen University & Research together with public health specialists are developing an ethical framework for the prevention of antimicrobial resistance in health care. The framework helps professionals overcome practical dilemmas, enabling successful infection control and respectful treatment of individual patients.